Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Demand His Release From Prison

The former television dad was sentenced to 3 to 10 years.

Bill Cosby is in prison after being sentenced to 3 to 10 years for three charges of aggravated indecent sexual assault. On the day of his sentencing, September 25, 2018, he was immediately taken into custody. Now his lawyers are demanding his immediate release from prison.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cosby’s lawyers are calling for the conviction to be overturned due to a “string of trial errors.” Reportedly, his lawyers claim the sentence was more “punitive than necessary, given the standard two- to three-year guideline range and the fact Cosby is 81 and blind.”

In addition, they argue “the trial evidence never proved the encounter took place in 2004, and not 2003, or that Cosby was arrested within the 12-year time limit.”

When Judge Steven T. O’Neill sentenced the 81-year-old, he said, “It is time for justice. Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The time has come. … Nobody is above the law because of where they live, who they are, wealth, fame, celebrity, or even philanthropy.”

The former television dad was found guilty in April during a re-trial that centered on claims from Andrea Constandstemming from an incident in 2004. “Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy, young spirit and crushed it,” Constand told the court during her victim impact statement before Cosby was sentenced on September 25. “He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others.”

7.

“This is just going to show victims that they can make it through and that there’s justice at the end. Hallelujah,” a witness in Bill Cosby’s criminal case says after he was sentenced to 3-10 years in state prison #tictocnewspic.twitter.com/mcqHCxdybN

9.

Much hangs in the balance for Bill Cosby. He entered the courthouse, without emotion. As of 10:45, the judge took a recess to rule on if Cosby is a sexually violent predator. Sentencing will begin shortly after that. @CBSPhillypic.twitter.com/6duFfCeODc

75. Sentencing Begins In Bill Cosby Trial

76. Sentencing Begins In Bill Cosby Trial

Bill Cosby Gets Sentenced For His Sexual Assault Conviction

UPDATED: 5:48 p.m. EDT, Sept. 25 -- Bill Cosby's mug shot was taken and released to the public Tuesday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/1044694465267609600
UPDATED: 2:23 p.m. EDT, Sept. 25 -- Bill Cosby was sentenced on Tuesday to three to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044650412689764352
UPDATED: 1:08 p.m. EDT, Sept. 25 -- Judge Steven T. O’Neill has reportedly decided that Bill Cosby must be labeled a sexually violent predator regardless of the sentencing, which was expected to be announced at bout 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044621674849730562
UPDATED: 10:54 a.m. EDT, Sept. 25 -- The woman at the center of Bill Cosby's conviction for sexual assault addressed the court Tuesday morning to deliver her victim impact statement, according to Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia.
"Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy, young spirit & crushed it," Andrea Constand reportedly said. "He robbed me of my health & vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself & others."
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044598871274516480https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044600711936380929
Meanwhile, Cosby's lawyers were reportedly hoping that the disgraced comedian's blindness and other health concerns would factor into a lenient prison sentence. Cosby was facing as many as 10 years in prison.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044599635438960641
There was also the concern over how Cosby would be classified following his conviction.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044601372698705921
[caption id="attachment_3828249" align="alignnone" width="836"] Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty[/caption]
UPDATED: 8:36 a.m. EDT, Sept. 25 -- Bill Cosby has arrived at the suburban Philadelphia courthouse Tuesday, when he was expected to be sentenced to prison for his sexual assault conviction months earlier. The disgraced comedian who was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004 emerged from his luxury SUV smiling and pointed to onlookers at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
https://twitter.com/LaurenDawnFox29/status/1044565289868963840
The prosecutor in the case has pushed for Cosby to serve 10 years in prison, but the judge has hinted that the sentence may be closer to three years.
Accusers had an opportunity to speak directly to Cosby and the court during the first installment of the two-day sentencing hearing. Speakers included Andrea Constand, the woman whose claims of sexual assault prompted the trial, and former supermodel Janice Dickinson.
Read on to see pictures and videos from Day 1 of Cosby's sentencing hearing.
[caption id="attachment_3828125" align="alignnone" width="840"] Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty[/caption]
UPDATED: 4:35 p.m. EDT -- Bill Cosby was reportedly expected to be sentenced to no more than three years, the judge presiding over his sexual assault trial and sentencing hearing said Monday. That stood in contrast to the prosecutor reportedly seeking as much as a decade behind bars.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044310069838524416
However, it was unclear when Cosby would be sentenced because of a reported request submitted by the defense at the start of the two-day sentencing hearing on Monday.
Cosby was being sentenced about five months after being found guilty of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044249876815663104
The hearing was expected to last two days to afford Constand and Cosby's alleged victims an opportunity to offer their "victim impact statements" to the disgraced comedian.
https://twitter.com/RoigFranzia/status/1044202690031620096
According to Deadline, Cosby's "lawyers today made a last-ditch sleight-of-hand that could knock the two-day sentencing hearing off the rails right after it started and keep him from potentially going behind bars this week."
Original story:
[caption id="attachment_3828002" align="alignnone" width="836"] Source: NurPhoto / Getty[/caption]
Bill Cosby was scheduled on Monday to be sentenced for his sexual assault conviction, but not before his confirmed and alleged victims literally have their say. The woman who a jury found was drugged and groped by the disgraced comedian was expected to lead a group of women making their "victim impact statements" to Cosby ahead of his sentencing, which was set to last two days.
Cosby arrived at the courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, with his legal team in tow. His main accuser, Andrea Constand, had already arrived, as well as other accusers, including former supermodel Janice Dickinson.
A small group of protesters had assembled outside the courthouse in a scene that was similar to the retrial, which ended in April and followed the original trial that ended in a mistrial last year.
Regardless of the sentencing – Cosby could either be sentenced to a maximum 30 years and be led out of the courtroom in handcuffs or he could be sentenced to probation – the case is likely bound to continue as defense attorneys were expected to announce an immediate appeal.
Cosby’s fall from grace has been especially notable because he built his career on a clean, family-friendly image that was shredded when he was indicted and arrested on Constand’s accusation that had gone all but ignored until Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele won his election and vowed to finish the job his predecessor never started.
The comedian's wife filed an ethics complaint with the state judicial board last week claiming Judge Steven O'Neill was biased, but the accusation wasn’t expected to affect the sentencing.
Below are some of the scenes from Cosby’s sentencing hearing. The photos and videos will be updated as they become available.